The feeling of being touched by magic’s bitter cold happened before Liam could process what was happening. His body reacted before his brain could, and Liam pulled back his hand and gave the extended one in front of him an almost offended look.
Even when he knew what was happening, he was not able to fully control his emotions.
Suspicion colored Emily’s face at Liam’s sudden action, but at least she did not do anything else to Liam.
"Mom, stop it! Did you just put tracking magic on my partner? Stop it—"
Liam watched the family drama unfold in front of him. Bianca finally broke free of the enchantnts she had been kept in and decided to attack her mother.
But the older lady was easily able to dodge her agile young daughter before she created more distance between herself and the others. Her attitude made her look like an aloof immortal standing all alone and untouched.
That image was broken when Emily’s expression changed to beco irritated.
"Alright, I get it. Well, since you ca here to participate in this raid, I will not stop you or others. Let’s not keep everyone else waiting."
Emily finally turned around, and Bianca watched her with narrowed eyes. But once she was sure that her mother was gone, her pale face finally regained so color, and she collapsed on her knees.
Seeing her like this made Liam feel a shred of pity for her. He could tell that Bianca did not have a good relationship with her mother, and her strong front was just a mask she wore to protect herself.
"Hey, are you fine? Your mother sure is...sothing. Is she always like that with you?"
Liam asked as he kept Bianca company by kneeling beside her. He did not help her up since he had a feeling that soone strong like Bianca might see it as a sign of insult. So he decided to show his support in non-verbal ways.
"My mother was...a lot more ta compared to how she usually is when she is with . She is much calr when there are other people around us...ah, but you don’t have to worry about it. I will deal with her myself."
Bianca assured Liam, but he did not feel worried. He rubbed his wrist where the foreign magic was trying to get into his skin and mark him.
Liam only needed to use a little bit of his magic to combat the cold before the mark disappeared, rendering the magic useless.
[Scanning User’s body...No sign of foreign magic found on the user.]
The system confird what Liam already knew, and he did not pay it any more attention. He was already getting enough attention from the people around him because of what happened.
Bianca noticed this sudden increase in attention as well, and she decided that it would be better for them to be alone, rather than waste ti worrying about unnecessary things.
"Tsk, looks like we will have to leave for another place, Boss. It is no longer safe for us to be out here. Co with ."
Liam followed Bianca to a secluded place while waiting for the raid to open. And once it did, it was ti for the raid to start. People were looking at Liam and Bianca with interested eyes once more, and their chatter sounded far too loud in Liam’s ear.
But he did his best to tune everyone else out, no matter how loud they were.
"I’m sorry. Most of this is happening because of my mother. Anyway, I will make sure to compensate you for this later."
Liam kept quiet at Bianca’s reassurance.
It did sting his ego to receive compensation from soone younger than him, but in the face of money, that sting soon beca numb.
Ringgg
The sudden sound of the ring caused Liam and everyone else to turn toward the podium. Emily Ross stepped up to take the mic, and her gaze looked serious.
"Alright everyone, rember—once you step foot into the raid area, your life is no longer our responsibility. So if you die, it is up to you. So good luck, and I hope I see most of you make it back alive."
It was a short speech that felt discouraging. But it was also a much-needed reality check for most of these people.
"Alright, Boss, it’s ti to head out. Rember, call for if you feel like you are in trouble. I will co running to save you."
Bianca assured him, and Liam only let out a nervous chuckle.
For the first ti, he was stepping foot into a raid dungeon with his own body and not in his mories. It made him feel nostalgic and nervous at the sa ti.
Admittedly, the build-up to walking into the raid dungeon was much more nerve-wracking than actually stepping into one. To Liam, the inside of the dungeon he stepped into had just a little bit more magic than the outside.
It was nothing like the dungeon he often witnessed in his mories.
To say that he was disappointed would be a massive understatent.
"So this is a dungeon, huh? It looks..."
Liam trailed off, not finishing his words. He did not accidentally want to insult this place that was revered by a lot of hunters. But his lack of enthusiasm was taken as him being speechless by Bianca.
"This place is amazing, right? I was left speechless when I ca here for the first ti as well. But don’t worry. You will get used to it. The more ti you spend here, the more you will get used to it."
Bianca sounded excited as she skipped forward. Liam could have spoken up and dampened her fun, but he chose not to.
Disappointed or not, he was here to earn money by gathering dicinal herbs and other substances. He had no ti to be feeling sorry for anything.
Liam followed Bianca, but even after ten minutes of walking, Bianca did not stop to point out anything that needed to be gathered. Instead, she seed to have a specific destination in mind that she wanted to reach.
Reviews
All reviews (0)